A safe work zone is an essential part of modern infrastructure and construction. There are entire fields dedicated to ensuring that risk of injury during work is minimized for both workers and bystanders. ATS Traffic ensures that work zones on the roads meet and exceed national safety standards. We commit resources and time to advancing our equipment, training, and procedures, such as our longtime partnership with 3MTM ; searching for that slight edge that could mean the difference between an accident or a near-miss.
At the end of the day, what are the benefits of a safe work zone?
Reduced Injuries and Fatalities
In 2022, Transport Canada reported that Canada had a rate of 5.0 motor vehicle fatalities per 100,000 population, and a total 118,853 motor vehicle injuries. The International Transport Forum stated that in 2021, the cost of car crashes cost Canada the equivalent of 1.8% of our GDP, roughly $36 Billion¹.
Safe work zones contribute to reduced incident rates for both drivers, pedestrians and workers. In the aftermath of a work zone accident or injury, there are many factors that are reviewed to determine cause and effect. It is in everyone’s best interest that work zones are designed with safety as their primary purpose, with clearly defined guidelines and best practices.
Improved Traffic Mobility
After safety, the next priority for a work zone’s design is optimizing traffic flow. Traffic congestion costs road users across Canada time and money, in addition to impacting general happiness, local business and public trust. A properly designed and researched work zone combines speed restrictions, lane reductions, flexibility, and rerouting. Congestion also creates unsafe situations and frustrated road users can lead to an increased risk of accidents and collisions. Safe work zone design strives to take the restrictions that are required by best safety practices and mitigate the effects of traffic congestion.
More Benefits of Safe Work Zones
Additional benefits of safe work zones include:
- Reduce costs from travel delay and fuel consumption
- Less disruption of local business
- More efficient emergency evacuation and disaster recovery
- Reduces vehicle emission impact on air quality
Learn more about these benefits and the science behind creating safe work zones by reading 3MTM’s Work Zone Safety Challenges, Trends and Best Practices.3M Work Zone Safety Ebook
Since 1966, ATS Traffic has helped organizations and communities keep workers, motorists, and pedestrians safe on our roads. ATS Traffic provides complete traffic control for communities across Canada. As a 3M™ Authorized Fabricator and Certified Digital Fabricator, ATS Traffic is Canada’s leading sign and barricade manufacturer as well as an award-winning provider of installation services, flagging, lane closures, asset management, ITS solution architecture, data capture and analysis and smart intersection enhancements. For more information, visit www.atstraffic.ca.
References:
- Transport Canada. (2023). Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2022. Ottawa: Transport Canada. Retrieved from Transport Canada website.